Subject: ID please Geographic location of the bug: UK Date: 12/12/2017 Time: 02:55 AM EDT Hi Bugmen Thank you so much for providing this service. My thoughts are a parasitic wasp but your opinion would be greatly appreciated. How you want your letter signed: Karen

Gnat, we believe

Dear Karen, The insect in the images you provided appears to have a single pair of wings, meaning it is in the order Diptera, the Flies. We suspect this is some species of Gnat.

HI Daniel

Thank you so much and for responding so quickly. Is it possible to identify it into one of these groups Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidaeand Sciaridae? What is the abdominal cercus used for in this type of gnat?

Thank you for your time. Regards, Karen Chisholm

Dear Karen, We do not have the necessary expertise to make that call conclusively. We suspect that the the organ in question is an ovipositor.

Subject: catepillars Location: Mpumalanga south africa February 20, 2017 12:32 am Hi there I know the precessionary caterpillars. These ones move like, and obviously mimics a snake. they are much smaller. is it maybe the early stage of precessionary catepillars? thanks Signature: wetie

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Dear wetie, We believe these are Fungus Gnat larvae from the family Sciaridae. According to iSpot, Fungus Gnats are found in South Africa. According to BugGuide: “Sometimes abundant enough to form a crawling mass of several inches across and several feet long, similar to armyworm migrations.”

Subject: Bug ID Location: Bois Blanc Island, MI February 9, 2017 1:07 pm Last July, on an inland hike on Bois Blanc Island, MI we discovered swamp milkweed covered in these insects. I have zero idea what they were and had never seen them before. But curiosity has the best of me and I would like to know what they were if possible. THANK YOU! Signature: B. Dunn

Fungus Gnats, we believe

Dear B. Dunn, At first we thought these might be March Flies, but they do not feed and most insects attracted to milkweed blossoms do so because of the rich nectar they provide. We then entertained they might be Soft Winged Flower Beetles, but that did not look correct, so we contacted Eric Eaton for assistance.

Eric Eaton provides a possible identification.Daniel: These remind me of dark-winged fungus gnats, family Sciaridae, but I cannot tell for certain from this one image. Eric

Subject: Parade of insects in slime? Location: Hillsboro, Virginia July 8, 2016 8:47 am I saw this streak of ‘slime’ on my sidewalk yesterday, about 1/2″ wide and 8″ long which was moving slowly as if flowing forward. It was composed of tiny whitish oblong insects, maybe smaller than a grain of rice which were moving forward in unison in this ‘matrix of ooze’ Photo shows streak of slime on sidewalk. The colors are about the same. I took a short movie of the movement but the file is too large to send. Hope you can help. Signature: Sandy

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Dear Sandy, These are Fungus Gnat Larvae in the family Sciaridae. According to BugGuide: “Sometimes abundant enough to form a crawling mass of several inches across and several feet long, similar to armyworm migrations. Can be pests in greenhouses and in commercially grown mushrooms.”

Oh my GOSH!!!! Thank you so much for the quick answer. I will use you again. How very interesting. I will search for more about them. Thank you thank you. Sandy

Subject: swarm of caterpillars Location: Fairfax, VA July 21, 2015 11:40 am This has got to be the most unusual behavior I’ve ever seen – a swarm of small (5 – 8 mm in length), translucent caterpillars, slowly moving across a sidewalk (to get to the other side, of course!) in a stream nearly the width of the sidewalk, with a depth of several individuals. I did not see it from the beginning, but I estimate it took about 15 minutes for them to reach the other side. It was most similar to watching schooling fish, but in slow motion. I assume this is adaptive behavior for the same reason as schooling and herds? This was at 8 AM on a very humid day, if relevant. Any idea as to species? Have you heard of this before? Is swarm the right term? Signature: Seth

Fungus Gnat Larvae Aggregation

Dear Seth, This fascinating phenomenon is an aggregation of Fungus Gnat Larvae in the family Sciaridae. We generally reserve the term swarm for winged species while in flight.

Subject: What the hell are these Location: NWA June 21, 2014 8:53 am Hey Bugman, Yesterday morning I came across 5 groups of these slugs (I believe that’s what they are). I live in North West Arkansas. So far I haven’t been able to find anything on web about what these little guys actually are. Most people are telling me that they are tent caterpillars, but I don’t believe that is correct. Signature: J. Ramey

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Dear J Ramey, This is a crawling mass of Fungus Gnat Larvae in the family Sciaridae. According to the Home, Yard & Garden Newsletter at the University of Illinois: “Fungus gnat larvae are more likely to be numerous in areas with an overabundance of water from rainfall or irrigation. Over-watering newly laid sod can result in large populations of these larvae eating young roots. Reducing irrigation will cause a reduction in the number of fungus gnat larvae and allow the sod to root. These larvae are not likely to cause any damage to established turf and can be ignored or washed away with heavy streams of water. As adults, they are known as dark-winged fungus gnats, which are frequently very common in the spring and fall in Illinois, flying as large swarms up to several feet across.”